DHS boys soccer pressure cooks Grand Junction

Like a maligned and tortured geologic fault, heat and pressure mushroomed in the tectonic plates of the Grand Junction defense Saturday morning.

In the first half, the Tigers’ fault slipped under the friction of the Durango High School boys soccer team’s incessant attack, sending tremors through the Grand Junction plates.

In the second half, it buckled, shattered and quaked.

The Demons scored five goals on Grand Junction on Saturday morning at a windy Riverview Sports Complex, four of them in the second half, and Durango rumbled over its Southwestern League rival 5-1 a day after beating league-leading Montrose 4-3.

“The boys have been playing some inspired soccer this weekend,” DHS head coach Kenny Wood said.

After a back and forth opening 20 minutes, Durango took control of the possession game and cranked up the pressure on the Grand Junction backfield.

In the 39th minute, Seumus McAliney swung the ball left from center field to Willie Frownfelter on the left sideline, who slipped the ball across the goal box to the blitzing Nick Aggeler.

Aggeler punched the ball into the gaping net.

“He kept his run going and was rewarded with a tap-in,” Wood said.

“I was there in the perfect place,” said Aggeler, son of Cheryle and Terence Aggeler.

Grand Junction’s foundation had cracked.

Aggeler returned the favor four minutes into Half 2 on an almost identical play, sliding the ball across the goal box to Austin Scalf for another open-net tap-in.

“Our timing, I thought, (Saturday) was outstanding,” Wood said.

“Our through balls were really perfect ... and we had some great finishes.”

Cameron Treharne made it 3-0 in the 8th, cleaning up a rebound with the Tigers’ goalkeeper down in a goal-mouth collision moments before.

Luke DeKay scored a fourth for DHS in the 15th on a blast from inside the penalty box that found the upper-right net corner, and Zeb Soignier capped the Demons’ goal scoring with another cleanup tap-in on the rebound of a stiff Ian Bowers shot in the 35th minute.

“We had some nice plays that ended in some nice goals,” DHS goalkeeper Will Sommerville said.

Durango tallied 15 shots in the second half.

“It doesn’t matter who scores,” Wood said. “The guys are all just working for each other.”

The Tigers’ lone score came during a short break in the Demons’ roiling attack, when the back line broke down and failed to fully clear a ball from their defensive third – a “mental mistake” from the “sharper” defense that Wood said he’ll take as opposed to simply getting outplayed.

Grand Junction’s Kevin Villar got a “lucky touch,” broke away and launched a shot at the advancing Sommerville. Sommerville, who’s filling in for starting keeper Ben Marvin-Vanderyn while the latter recovers from a concussion, got his hands on the ball, but the shot deflected over his head and into the goal.

“You’re really just thinking about saving it,” said Sommerville, son of Kris and Les Sommerville. “Hope to get your hands on it and hope it doesn’t slip by.”

Sommerville saved five for the win Saturday.

“He’s filling in and doing a great job for us,” Wood said. “He showed a lot of poise (Saturday).”

With the win, Durango improved to 8-2-3, 5-2-1 in the SWL, a half-game behind 5-1-1 Montrose and Fruita Monument.

The Demons will play at Fruita Monument on Friday, looking to make up for a 4-1 loss at the Wildcats’ feet last weekend at home. DHS will play Grand Junction Central on Saturday.

“The good stuff is coming,” Wood said of his team’s play. “They’re rising to the occasion.”